The background information is believed, at the time of the filing of this patent application, to adequately provide background information for this patent application. However, the background information may not be completely applicable to the claims as originally filed in this patent application, as amended during prosecution of this patent application, and as ultimately allowed in any patent issuing from this patent application. Therefore, any statements made relating to the background information are not intended to limit the claims in any manner and should not be interpreted as limiting the claims in any manner.
Cutters configured to cut moldable materials, such as clay and dough, have been and are currently used in a large variety of applications. For example, cookie cutters have been used for many years to form an outer perimeter shape of cookie dough prior to baking. Molds have also been used for shaping surfaces of materials into desired shapes. For example, the use of molds with an embossed pattern on a wall of a mold cavity is common in shaping moldable materials, such as clay and confectionery compounds such as rolled fondant, modeling chocolate and gum paste. However, apparatuses configured to cut moldable material may have sharp cutting blades, creating health and safety concerns. For example, human skin may be punctured or lacerated from a slicing or entrapment of fingers and parts of the hand while using known apparatuses configured to cut moldable material. Additionally, apparatuses configured for cutting and molding moldable materials are typically separate apparatuses or require an apparatus to have multiple component parts. This may increase labor costs associated with usage, cleaning, and maintenance of the apparatus(es). Further, molds and cutters currently in use may not allow easy removal of material therefrom. For example, current cutters or molds having a complex perimeter shape of a cutter and/or detail in an embossing pattern in a mold may cause a mold or cutter to captured material within the cutter and/or embossed surface of a mold.
What is needed is a mold and cutter combination that overcomes some of the obstacles associated with currently available molds and cutters.